The Gentleman’s game took a bizarre turn in 2025, leaving players and fans scratching their heads. Last year, weird rules from a fruit skin to a simple hand gesture have all resulted in players being penalized, and some even lost their spots in tournaments. Let’s look at the five weirdest moments that left these professional golfers feeling very confused.

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Rory McIlroy and the banana peel incident at Royal Melbourne

The 2025 season gave Rory McIlroy so many great memories, including his famous Masters Win at Augusta to complete the career grand slam. However, his most peculiar moment happened at the Australian Open. During the third round, Rory McIlroy found his ball under a banana peel. This organic trash created a massive trap for the five-time major champion.

According to the rulebook, a banana peel is a loose impediment that players can remove. But there is a catch. If the ball moves while you clear the trash, you get a one-shot penalty. That’s why McIlroy decided to hit the shot with the peel still touching the ball and made a double bogey.

“The banana, it’s a loose impediment, and it was rested on the ball,” the #2 explained his choice after the round. “So if I moved the banana peel, the ball would’ve moved. I just didn’t even try.”

While McIlroy’s issue was with a banana peel, Shane Lowry’s bizarre penalty came courtesy of modern technology.

Shane Lowry and the camera clip at Royal Portrush

The 2019 Open Champion found himself in an uncomfortable situation during the second round of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Lowry hit a practice swing in thick rough at Royal Portrush on the 12th hole. His club never touched the ball, but it shook the thick grass around the lie. He thought nothing happened and finished the hole. Little did he know that high-tech cameras saw something his eyes had totally missed.

A tiny movement in the grass became a huge problem for the former Open winner. Television cameras later showed that the grass moved and the ball shifted a little during that swing. Officials used video and hit Lowry with a two-shot penalty after reviewing the footage. Lowry said he did not see the ball move and felt frustrated by the ruling, but he refrained from arguing with the officials as he did not want to ruin his reputation.

“I was in there with the rules official and wasn’t arguing my case, but I’m disappointed that they don’t have more camera angles on it,” Lowry said after the round. “But I had to take the penalty because, to be honest, whether it was or not, but I had to take the penalty because I can’t have my name talked about or tossed around like that, and I just get on with it.”

At least Lowry’s unfortunate incident did not result in a disqualification.

Cole Hammer & Nelson Ledesma: The Hand Signal DQ’d on the Korn Ferry Tour

It wasn’t the turf, a fruit, or a golf club, but it was one single hand gesture that resulted in two pros being disqualified during the Korn Ferry Tour. The 2025 Memorial Health Championship saw a simple hand gesture turn into a disaster for Cole Hammer and Nelson Ledesma. Hammer hit a great 4-iron shot on the 17th hole during his opening round. Nelson Ledesma’s caddie, Nico Torres, flashed four fingers at Hammer. To which Hammer responded, flashing four fingers back, confirming the club he used for that specific shot.

Golf rules say players and caddies cannot give or ask for club advice during a tournament round. It’s a serious breach of the game’s integrity. Hammer felt bad about the signal and reported himself to the officials the very next morning. The officials DQ’d both Hammer and Ledesma.

“I didn’t think that they would be disqualified,” Hammer said of his playing partner, Ledesma, and his caddie. “I just thought since I was the one who gave the sign that I would be disqualified. And I thought that was the worst-case scenario.”

Will Zalatoris & Cam Davis: One of the most bizarre rules violations of the year

At The Sentry in Hawaii, Will Zalatoris and Cam Davis both played the wrong ball on one hole. During the final round of the 2025 Sentry, these two PGA Tour pros both played the wrong ball on their third shots on the par-5 15th hole. The rule treats wrong-ball strokes as not counting, and it adds a two-stroke penalty to the score. Both players had to replay shots from the correct spots and added two-stroke penalties to their scorecards. Plus, each player lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money from that mistake.

NBC analysts Mark Rolfing called the situation almost impossible to believe in today’s game, and another analyst, Dan Hicks, added that losing focus can lead to very embarrassing moments.

But these things didn’t stop with the regular event, as one of the most prestigious tournaments of the season, The Masters, also had a very strange twist that made everyone jealous.

Michael McDermott, the Masters marker who made fans jealous

Michael McDermott became the most envied man in golf during the third round in Georgia. The club needed a marker because an odd number of players cut Augusta. McDermott, who is also the CEO of a financial services firm in Pennsylvania and a member at Augusta National, got that not to participate as a non-competing marker alongside Tom Kim.

As per the rules, Markers do not compete officially, so their scores do not enter leaderboards or winnings. They cannot wear competitor identification, and they must not speak to the media after their round.

McDermott served this role for the second time in three years. And despite his 70-year-old age, he impressed the pros by hitting his drives over 300 yards.

These five stories show that the 2025 season was full of unbelievable moments. But these were not the only strange things that happened on the pro tours. Marcel Siem got a disqualification for hitting a provisional ball when he really shouldn’t have. Ben Kohles lost his PGA Tour card because his ball moved during a pressure moment. Even Cedric Gugler faced a ten-event suspension for playing from the wrong place repeatedly.

Rules can be your best friend or your worst enemy on the green grass. One small slip or a tiny hand wave can change your entire career. We hope the 2026 season brings some more great shots and crazy rules fiascos as well.